My average electric bill used to be about $150 per month, it's now $0 (thanks to net metering). The solar cost me about $29,000 (after tax and utility rebates). So it's got a 16 year pay-back period (and a 30 year warranty). I was 48 when we installed it in the spring, so it should pay off when I'm 64 years old. Just from that basic math (and not accounting for utility rate increases), assuming I live to 75 I'll "profit" $20,000 in my lifetime. Plus, by driving EVs, we never have to buy gas. My wife will almost certainly outlive me, so the numbers for her should be even better than what I'm projecting.
I'm looking at installing a battery system, and I'm not sure how that will affect these numbers. I'm also not sure about reselling the home...the internet is all over the place. One site says you get an average boost of 4.1% in a home's value for solar, which is not enough to pay for the whole system, but a significant chunk of it. Another site says your house value goes up $20 for every $1 yearly reduction in utility expenses, which does pay for my whole installation. So who knows.
Overall, if you expect to be in your home for a long time, if you have a good spot for the panels, and if you can afford the upfront costs, solar seems like a winner to me. There's also the ecological benefits if that's part of your calculation. I think the people that get burned by solar are the ones leasing the system or taking out big loans to fund it.
EDIT: Oh yeah, I'm in Missouri.